


Return to Sender: Wrong Address

by TheMightyChipmunk



Series: Reddie Meet-Cute AUs [2]
Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Miscommunication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-12 06:18:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12953163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMightyChipmunk/pseuds/TheMightyChipmunk
Summary: Richie has had a crush on the cute boy, Eddie, he’s been delivering packages to for months. MONTHS. And the prognosis is positive: the two of them flirt all the time and they're both so into each other. Richie should ask him out, right? Easy peasy? The only problem is... Eddie thinks Richie's name is Ricky.





	Return to Sender: Wrong Address

**Author's Note:**

> Eyyy I wrote this last night when I was in a mega-production mode because I'm back on adderall. WOO! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!!

“Here’s some ice for that, Big Bill.” Richie said as he tossed a plastic bag wrapped in a towel to his best friend, who was laying on the couch with his ankle propped up on a pillow, “Don’t use all of it! God knows I’m gonna need some myself after a day of covering for your ass.”

“Uggh, I’m sorry, Richie!” Bill groaned, gingerly placing the ice on his swollen ankle. The boy never ever got hurt, but even the mighty must fall. Bill had sprained his ankle ice skating with his boyfriend, Stan, and hadn’t stopped groaning about it. Which was fair, Richie supposed, since it meant he couldn’t do his job. Richie and Bill were bike messengers and Bill was, undeniably, one of the best.

“I’m just teasing, Billy Boy. Everything’s gonna be fine, ‘specially since I’ve got your girl Silver to help me out.” Richie mused, smiling wide around a bit of English muffin. Bill looked up at him with tentative, albeit sleepy, eyes.

“Please, _please_ be careful with her. She’s really old and-”

“I know, Bill. I will be, I promise. We’ll get through your shift _and mine_ in no time, I promise.” Richie assured. He leaned down to kiss Bill on the forehead with a wet smack before grabbing his jacket and shrugging it on, “Call me if you need _anything_ yeah? I’ll text you when I’m on my way home.”

“Okay. Be safe!” Bill called after him and Richie smiled as he bounded down the stairs to grab Bill’s bike. He was really going to need it if he was going to make it through today because he meant it when he said Bill was the best. He moved _fast_ and new the city like the back of his hand. Richie was gonna have big fucking shoes to fill.

He rode through the city streets with a wide smile on his face, refusing to let the task of the day get the best of him. The sun was shining and the loud of honks of car horns were complimented by the obnoxious groans of business men and women who didn’t want to be awake and Richie was thriving. He loved the city, really. He loved the constant wave of people, the energy, the way everything you do while walking a city street could feel important. It was great.

When he got to the post office, he picked up his packages and groaned when he slung his pack on his back, the load significantly heavier than usual. Georgia, the lady at the front desk, wished him luck and Richie just smiled at her. Usually he stayed and let himself flirt for a little while, but that would’ve been wasting time that he really did not fucking have that day, so instead he just said his thanks and goodbyes and merrily went on his way.

He liked delivering packages, even if the work could be a little tiring, both physically and mentally. Navigating the busy streets were a pain in his ass sometimes and businessmen could be real pricks, but overall, it was a pretty sweet gig. It kept him in pretty good shape as well, which was always a bonus, and he got to meet some pretty cool people. A lot of them were usually just up for some small talk and then expected him to be on his way, which was fine, but some liked to _talk_. Some had really good stories.

And some were just _cute_. Like Eddie, the temp at this law firm that Richie went to sometimes. It was in a little bit of a nicer part of the city and it was also sort of far from the mail service, but Richie _always_ went there last, just in case he got to see Eddie and _talk_ to Eddie. Richie, unsurprisingly, had a bit of a crush on the guy. He just had the softest brown curls and the brightest hazel eyes and whenever Richie came in he really _smiled,_ like he was actually happy to see him. They flirted up a storm every time, Eddie always acting playfully annoyed and Richie extra obnoxious and it was a little bit middle school, but why should Richie fucking care? He got to make Eddie smile so fuck it.

The only snag in the situation was that Eddie thought Richie’s name was Ricky.

The first time Richie went to the office, it had been his very last stop and it just so happened to be the middle of summer, so Richie was tired as fuck. And dripping with sweat too, which was not cute. And he’d walked up to the front desk and when Eddie had looked up at him with those freckles and fucking dimples and just overall cuteness, Richie had kind of been at a loss for his words. When the boy had asked him his name, he must’ve stumbled or stuttered or something. So when Eddie said:

“Nice to meet you, Ricky. I’m Eddie.”

Richie had been too dazed to even realize the difference, honestly. He was just shook by the fact that an actual living breathing angel was talking to him. Eventually he snapped out of the daze and throughout the rest of their conversations he realized that 1) Eddie was not an angel. He was actually kind of a punk ass bitch, but in the best of ways. And 2) Richie’s name was not, in fact, Ricky. It was Richie. And now, for the past three months, the boy had been calling him Ricky and it was just way too late to change things.

With Eddie, at least. Richie could probably go to City Hall and get his name legally changed to Ricky, it wasn’t too late for that.

“Ricky!” Eddie said happily as Richie stumbled his way into the office. Eddie was standing behind the receptionist’s desk, helping her copy some things and Richie kind of wondered if he was waiting for him. That was impossible right?

“Hey Eds, got a nice package for you here.” He said with a wink and Eddie just rolled his eyes, barely cracking a smile.

“You gotta come up with a better line, Rick.” Eddie teased, making Richie laugh.

“I’d never mess with a classic, babe,” Richie quipped back as he pulled his bag around and handed the packages over, “You mind signing?” he asked, just like he did every time. And just like every other time, Eddie nodded and grabbed the signing-thingy, biting his lips as he focused on the task in front of him. And just like every other time, Richie wanted to groan at how fucking _cute_ the guy was, with his pink lips and intense focus. It should be illegal looking like that when a man was that tired and his body and mind were that exhausted. 

“Here you go, Ricky,” Eddie said, handing the signature-thing back to Richie. His smile faded a little though when he looked at Richie a little closer, “Hey, you okay Rick? You look kinda beat.” Eddie leaned his elbows on the edge of the raised dais separating the two of them and so Richie did the same.

“Eh, long day. I’m covering for a friend who hurt his ankle so, I’m doing double loads here.” Richie explained and Eddie winced sympathetically.

“Aw, I’m sorry. Double loads, that’s gotta be hard to take-” Eddie started to say but he immediately cut off for a moment because he saw Richie’s face change, “Do _not_ make a sex joke about that, Rick, we are in my _office_.”

“But Eds, you make it so easy!” Richie laughed and Eddie rolled his eyes again.

“Don’t call me that.” He said and Richie wanted to stop and yell _only if you STOP CALLING ME RICKY_ but he really couldn’t do that. He’d gotten himself into this mess so he had to live with it. So instead he just shrugged and messed with the strap on his bag as he started to walk backwards.

“Sorry Eddie Spaghetti, it’s a hard habit to kick. See you next week?” Richie asked, hope probably a little too evident in his voice. Eddie smiled and nodded, giving a quick wave before Richie turned and walked out the door. His feet really didn’t want to obey and he honestly didn’t know if it was because of the exhaustion or the boy he was leaving behind him.

###

“You have _got_ to ask the guy out.” Alma cooed the second the door swung shut behind Ricky and Eddie turned and gave her a half-hearted glare.

“Butt out of my love life, Alma.” Eddie whispered, moving out of her desk area and back towards his cubicle.

“Oh, so now that the cute boy is gone you don’t wanna help me with my copies anymore?” she called after him and Eddie felt his face flush at her words.

“I don’t assist nosy people!” Eddie said back to her, ignoring her laughs and plopping into his swivel chair.

He knew she was right. He really wanted to ask Ricky out, had for _weeks_. But a big part of him thought that if Ricky really wanted to go out with him, he would’ve asked him by now. They had been flirting for so long and Ricky was _not_ a shy guy. _So why hadn’t he asked him yet_? Eddie wanted to date him so! hard! He wanted to hold his hand and ask him about his day and he _really_ wanted to talk to him for more than 5 minute increments every Tuesday afternoon. He had thought about adding him on Facebook but he could find him _anywhere_. Either his account was private or he didn’t have _any_ social media, because Eddie had looked everywhere but he found absolutely zero Ricky Toziers in the area. Well he had found some, but none who looked like his adorable bike messenger.

And it was simple to say that Alma wasn’t the only one who thought Eddie should ask Ricky out. He had vented about it to his roommate Ben about… one thousand times. And Ben, of course, always let him get it out and was super supportive but also, Ben was a mega-romantic and he was desperate for Eddie to get it the fuck over with and _ask him out_.

But Eddie was a coward so, there’s that.

“We should go out tonight, get your mind off of Ricky.” Ben said as he stirred some soup on the stove. Eddie was sprawled out on the counter, just finishing one of his rants about how curly Ricky’s hair looked when Ben suggested the crazy.

“Go _out_?” Eddie asked, as if Ben had suggested they venture to the North Pole to meet Santa Clause.

“Yeah! Bev, that girl I’ve been seeing, I’ve mentioned her right?” Ben asked, feigning nonchalance, and Eddie scoffed.

“Um, yes. You may have mentioned the girl with hair like January embers a few times, Ben.” Eddie teased and Ben just gave him a look that clearly read _you’re one to talk_.

“Yes, well, anyway, her friend… Richie? I think his name was Richie. Anyway, he and his band are playing at a bar downtown and we’re gonna go watch them. You wanna tag along? Some of her friends are coming too, so it won’t be like a third wheel thing.” Ben reasoned, taking the objection right off Eddie’s tongue.

Eddie paused and thought about it for a long time. It really had been a long time since he’d done anything fun that didn’t involve binge-watching New Girl on Netflix so…

“I guess I’ll come with you guys.” Eddie shrugged and Ben gave a little mini-cheer that made Eddie smile.

“You’re gonna love Bev, I just _know_ it.”

###

The bar was pretty crowded when they walked up, a line already out the door to get in. It was an old pub-looking thing and Eddie was pretty sure it wasn’t used to the foot traffic, so Eddie assumed people were only there to see the band, which was a good sign for how the night was going to go.

“Ugh, we’re gonna miss the first set, Eddie! Why did you have to spend so long on the phone with your mom?” Ben groaned and Eddie would’ve felt embarrassed, but he knew Ben was just stressed because he really really hated being late.

“I’m sorry, Ben. I hadn’t talked to her in a while, I felt bad. It’s bad enough I’m across the country, I can spare half an hour every once in a while to talk to her on the phone.” Eddie explained and Ben huffed and nodded.

“I know, I _know_. I just hate being late.” Ben huffed and Eddie just patted his back as they moved up slowly in the line. As they got closer to the door, Eddie could hear the sounds of the band inside and he could admit, he was impressed.

“Wow, they’re really good.” Eddie said, listening to the raspy voice of the lead singer and finding himself craning his neck to try to see past the bouncer and into the bar. Of course that was all to no avail because he was 5’5”.

“Yeah, I love this song, too.” Ben added. He did a little victory jump when they finally made it to the front of the line. Eddie, of course, had to pull out his ID to prove he was old enough to drink and he tried not to be too salty about it. He had to try to make peace with his baby face.

As they made their way through the crowded floor, Ben used the advantage of his damned height to look around and find Bev, who was seated at a booth sort of near the stage and Eddie followed as Ben tugged his hand, but his attention was elsewhere.

Because the lead singer of Bev’s friend Richie’s band was _Ricky_.

Right as they got to the booth, Ricky finished his song and announced that they were going to take a quick break before hopping off the stage. Eddie immediately pulled his hand out of Ben’s grip and went over to find him. He had to push his way through much taller bodies, but eventually he made it to the stage and _there he was_. He looked unbelievable gorgeous, wearing ripped black jeans and a long sleeved navy blue shirt pushed up to show his forearms. And that was just his clothes, his _face_ was absolutely lit _up_. His eyes were shining, his cheeks were flushed, and his smile was as genuine as Eddie had ever seen and Eddie wanted to kiss him so fucking bad.

“Ricky!” he yelled, trying to grab the guy’s attention away from whoever he was talking to, “Ricky!” he tried again, but the guy’s ears must’ve been ringing from being up on stage because he still didn’t budge. Finally, Eddie was close enough to touch him and he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Ricky immediately turned to look and his eyes widened comically.

“Eddie!” he exclaimed and shock faded into happiness, another blinding smile gracing his features as he wrapped Eddie up into a tight hug. Eddie _hmphed_ a little at the force and then felt butterflies take flight in his stomach because this was the first time they’d _ever_ been this close, their whole bodies touching. It lit Eddie up on the inside.

“I can’t believe you’re here, what the fuck?” Ricky laughed as he pulled back and Eddie shrugged with a wide smile of his own.

“Yeah, I came here with a friend… you were _amazing_ up there. I didn’t know you were in a band?”

“Oh, yeah, well, believe it or not, bike messaging actually isn’t my passion. Not exactly what I dreamed when I was a kid,” Ricky explained as Eddie laughed and felt his cheeks flush at the teasing, “I’ve been singing since I was a kid. Music is… everything.” Ricky said and Eddie felt his knees weaken a little at the passion in his eyes when he spoke.

Call it what you want, but Eddie liked a guy who knew what he wanted. Maybe he was a gold digger, maybe he was just a normal guy.

“That’s… so cool, Rick.” Eddie whispered and now it was Ricky’s turn to blush and that made Eddie a little braver than normal, “Hey can I buy you a-”

“Tozi _er_!” a blur of red yelled, before jumping on Ricky’s shoulders and making him grunt.

“Damn it, Marsh. What did I say about scaring me like that?” Ricky snapped, not really sounding annoyed, though. The girl on his shoulders rearranged herself and rested her chin on his shoulder.

“To always do it at the most inopportune moments.” She chanted and Eddie was pretty sure he knew that face.

“Beverly?” he asked and she smiled widely at him.

“Yes! You’re Ben’s roommate right?” She asked, holding out a hand for him to shake. Eddie took it and nodded. He tried to smile but it faltered a little when he saw Ricky’s face, which had fallen a little bit ashen.

“You’re Ben Hanscom’s roommate?” Ricky choked out and Eddie tilted his head in confusion.

“Um, yes? Is that bad thing?” Eddie asked, but of course, he didn’t get an answer because they were interrupted yet _again_.

“Richiiieeee!” A very handsome boy said, kissing the side of Ricky’s head with a loud kiss. He was limping slightly and leaning heavily on the boy with him, who was also disarmingly attractive, “that was fucking awesome, as usual. I see you’re getting cocky enough that you made the cripple come to you, instead of coming to him.”

“Sorry,” Ricky said sheepishly, rubbing his neck nervously and staring at Eddie with wide eyes, “Um, I was talking to-”

“Wait, trashmouth, are those my _boots_?” the other boy asked, glaring and pointing down at the combat boots that Ricky had seemingly thrown on, haphazardly tied. Ricky gave the boy a wide smile and huffed a laugh.

“You have the best fashion sense? It’s a compliment that I want to emulate your style? I didn’t think you’d notice?” Ricky threw all of the excuses out at once as Beverly slid off of his shoulders and the tall boy just glared at Rick.

“You are such a dick, Richie, I _swear_ -”

“Wait,” Eddie cut in, confused as fuck, “Are you guys calling him _Richie_?” Eddie asked, staring at them all who just stared back at him like he was stupid. Except for Ricky (?) of course; he just kept his eyes on his stolen boots.

“Um, yes? That’s his name?” Beverly said slowly and Eddie shifted his gaze to _Richie_ very slowly.

“You told me your name was Ricky.” He emphasized and he was honestly surprised he wasn’t yelling because holy _fuck_ was he embarrassed. He’d been calling him Ricky for MONTHS! MONTHS! And his name was Richie this whole time???!!!

“Um, yeah. Well, about that-”

“Wait, this is _Eddie_? _The_ Eddie?” The boy with the limp asked suddenly and Eddie turned to him and felt his mouth drop open.

“You TOLD people about me?” he gaped and he felt his face flush bright red because, oh yeah, that was probably really fucking funny, telling everyone about the random guy who calls you Ricky every day for three months!

“Oh, fuck, Eds, don’t be mad!” _Richie_ grabbed Eddie’s hand and pulled him a little bit away from his friends, a little more backstage so they could talk in private, “I didn’t mean to lie to you, Eddie, I promise. It’s just… well, when I first met you, you kind of like… made me mess up all my words because your eyes were all big and pretty and I didn’t know what to say! And you asked me my name and I said something and you heard me wrong and called me Ricky and I honestly didn’t even realize in the moment that my name _wasn’t_ Ricky. Like in that one moment, I _was_ Ricky, I swear.”

“But every other moment after that, you were Richie.” Eddie deadpanned and the boy winced.

“Yes. I am… Richie. Richie Tozier, Trashmouth Extraordinaire.” He said with a weak smile and Eddie groaned, bringing his hands up to cover his face, “Do you hate me?” Richie asked slowly and Eddie looked up at him and rolled his eyes.

“I don’t hate you, Rich, I’m just so fucking _embarrassed_! I’ve been imaginary dating you in my head for a month and I didn’t even know your real name!” Eddie moaned and Richie laughed loudly.

“No! Don’t be embarrassed. If anything, it’s _me_ that should take the embarrassment.” Richie explained. And as he spoke he moved a little closer to Eddie, tentatively taking one of hands in his.

“You know, you’re right _, you should_ be embarrassed,” Eddie agreed, pushing Richie’s chest softly, “this is mortifying for you.” Eddie added, making Richie laugh again and subsequently Eddie’s stomach flip. He was still embarrassed, definitely, but Richie was still smiling at him and looking all kissable and like he wanted to kiss Eddie too.

“Maybe… I can buy you a drink?” Eddie offered, “To make up for your embarrassment.” He clarified and Richie nodded seriously.

“Yeah, I think that’s fair.” He managed before cracking a smile. He leaned his head down a little and Eddie stood up on his tiptoes and they finally kissed each other, soft and sweet and perfect.

“Is this a bad time to mention that my name is actually Freddie?”

“ _Fuck_ _off,_ Eddie.”

**Author's Note:**

> Everything I learned about bike messengers I learned from that movie Premium Rush with Joseph Gordon Levitt, so safe to say I don't know anything about them. 
> 
> But thanks for reading!! <3
> 
> [Come say hi](http://themightychipmunk.tumblr.com/) and tell me more AUs!


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